Seeking advice regarding thinning chainsaw

[Ryan'smilling]

A few here have the OP at 45 with one foot
in the grave already..... let say it's a individual
thing.... w/ a lot of common sense earned or
gained... some have recommended the Dolmar
6000 series... same power head weight as the 7900
series... that's what it's about!!! power head to weight
ratios. .. bar length will save on the arms, shoulders
& back for sure! Lot of folk mouthing / repeatedly what
they've heard/read without truly the experience or making
a living with a saw....
The old saw...the ones ( or some of you would you pick up,
Make one think/have dead babies) enough throttle time
on one you'd for danged sure learn to let the saw do the work, instead of the saw working you. ;-)

I'm not 100% sure what your recommendation is here. Just wanted clarify that I haven't seen anyone recommend the Dolmar 6400, which is heavy for a 60cc saw. I have seen a recommendation of the 6100, which I'd a new model and more inline with 60cc saws.

 

[svk]

I'm not 100% sure what your recommendation is here. Just wanted clarify that I haven't seen anyone recommend the Dolmar 6400, which is heavy for a 60cc saw. I have seen a recommendation of the 6100, which I'd a new model and more inline with 60cc saws.

With the multitude of other saws in that space, I don't think anyone would recommend a 6400 for anything other than a donor to convert to 7900 if the price was right.

 

[Cycledude]

my local Husqvarna dealer used to sell Dolmar, very few were ever sold then they started selling Husqvarna and sales skyrocketed so much that they dropped Dolmar.

 

[M.R.]

Ryan...
I do favor the Dolmars.. Although not up on every
current saw coming out... I do have a NIB 6400 to convert
someday. .. The old Ford - Chevy thing... for me they've
been the Honda of chainsaws... I've liked & still use a
026 & 064 woods ported but... put pehaps 25% of the time
on these two as I do the Dolmars, yet the maintenance cost
Is higher.. mostly fuel lines, it seems like anytime the
price of crude went up the rubber quality in these fuel lines
went down. The only Huskys I've used regularly are a top handle (loud sob too) for climbing & a pole saw.

 

[madhatte]

I'm also a forester in WA, and all of the crews I know use 70cc+ saws for everything. 440/460/660 Stihls are giving way to 461/661 Stihls, and the Husky guys are keeping their 372's alive and haven't switched to 576's just yet. Everybody loves the 390. Bar lengths vary from 28" to 36" with 32" being the most commmon. My primary saw at work for everything from clearing roads to cutting hazard trees on fires is a MS440 wearing a 28", though I have a 460 and a 660 available. I'm just a little guy, I need a little saw.

Also: gonna move this to F&L

 

[northmanlogging]

• I'm over 45 years old and in fair condition

45 and in fair condition and he is supposed to carry a 70cc saw with 28 inch bar the whole day? Sorry but to be honest with that type of equipment I doubt he will last the first morning.

7

Well I am 39 and have broken more bones then I care to think about am 40 poinds overweight have 2 bad shoulders arthritis in knees and hips

And my daily use saw is a 461, cause it gets the job done.

On some jobs i drag an 066 around with a 36 or 42" bar. And its not always up to the task.

45 in fair condition is nearly a 20 yr old in these woods.

50cc saws are for trimming the rose bushes or whittling fire wood.

 

[slowp]

On the part about running a big saw all day, some of us girls have run an old heavy Mac on a precommercial thinning crew--got paid for it and that model of saw was of similar weight to our modern day 440s and 460s. It just took a week of painful muscles and then all was well. One gets used to it or one finds another line of work.

 

[Clark10]

I have been working for the last few days on another project and just came back to the forums. Thank you all for the great opinions, suggestions, and sage advice.

A little more information for some of the poster's questions. I'm working for a private land owner to clean up several small reproduction plantings that are crowded as this is the first thin and they haven't been managed. Stand is mostly in the 12"-18" diameter range with 5-10% standing dead trees that are 8" more or less. I'm not doing commercial thinning on large stands that have well managed trees like the picture "slowp" posted. The standing dead and small stuff will be left within the managed area and the larger live logs will be pulled for firewood. This is a very part time job.

I appreciate the post being switched to a different forum as it provided some good insights. I now have even more to think about.

Thanks everyone.

 

[slowp]

I have been working for the last few days on another project and just came back to the forums. Thank you all for the great opinions, suggestions, and sage advice.

A little more information for some of the poster's questions. I'm working for a private land owner to clean up several small reproduction plantings that are crowded as this is the first thin and they haven't been managed. Stand is mostly in the 12"-18" diameter range with 5-10% standing dead trees that are 8" more or less. I'm not doing commercial thinning on large stands that have well managed trees like the picture "slowp" posted. The standing dead and small stuff will be left within the managed area and the larger live logs will be pulled for firewood. This is a very part time job.

I appreciate the post being switched to a different forum as it provided some good insights. I now have even more to think about.

Thanks everyone.

Are the trees limb locked? I tried to open up a group of trees but they were so thick that we had to hook up a .....tractor to pull them over. Small trees don't have enough weight to tumble through a thick canopy, nor do they have much room to stick a wedge in and work them around. But they are big enough to kill or hurt you.

 

[madhatte]

I ran a S-212 class (wildland fire chainsaw operations) this year in a stand like that. To make a big enough hole to throw stems down in, I had to drive three together and then winch them down with the Lewis winch. After that we just put them down into the hole. In the end the hole we made was about 1/2 acre, enough for a class but not enough to qualify as a proper thin. Little trees are a PITA.

 

[slowp]

One of the few that I was able to hit the ground with. I cut with the Barbie Saw--a 440 with 28 inch bar which my neighbor says is not a safe saw to fall with. I think having a fence where the tree had to go helped to get it on the ground. It's the tractor beams.

 

[madhatte]

LOL @ "tractor beams"

 

[Clark10]

Here are some images of the area that I'm working in now. I'll also include an image of a truck with a load that would look a lot like what I would be taking out of this area if I were doing so right now. Dogs may give some perspective. By the way, the German Shepherd Dog is 105lbs and is taller and bigger than most people have seen. The McNab is less than half his size but 2 times faster.

 

[7sleeper]

Those trees are average? Max. 50cc all the way. Your 55, in good maintenance condition, will laugh at the work and give you a few years of problem free cutting time in that type of trees.

Btw nice dogs! Look like great companions!

7

 

[northmanlogging]

Dear everyone that suggests a 50cc saw,

Go out and fall timber for an entire day, don't cut any firewood, just limb and buck to 30-36' lengths with yer hedge trimmer.

Then if you don't already own one, the very next day, go rent a 64-80cc saw with a bar that will cut this timber.

At the end of the day, tally up your progress.

The extra 5-10 pounds of saw is going to be worth it, and after just a few days you won't really notice the weight difference.


I said it before, I'll say it again, this isn't fire wood or stump carving, falling timber means you need to have horse power on your team, and 50cc saws are not meant to fall timber regularly, they will do it, but you will work 3 times as hard for the same amount of production.

 

[northmanlogging]

As far as Dolmar/sachs/poulan/jonesared/echo/shindowa

Sachs/Dolmar are damned good saws but dealer support is next to null

Same goes for Jonesared, Can't think of any dealers on the west coast

The rest, Echo is ok... wouldn't touch anything else... new homelights,poulan,McCullach pretty much all garbage.

 

[madhatte]

Get a bar that's long enough that standing up, when you drop the tip on the ground, it hits a foot or so in front of your feet. For me, that's 28", which is the bar length I use the most on all saw models. Your mileage may vary. The idea is to bend less, and not hit your feet or legs. It really is only a pound or more of weight. The decrease in bending is important.

Also -- Jred parts mostly cross-reference with Husky, but if your dealer isn't a Jred dealer, you're probably going to have to do a bit of homework.

 

[woodfarmer]

I typically cut large beech and maple in the 18"-30" dia. I usually use jonsered 2165,2171 or Stihl 460 or 066. The bigger the tree, the larger the saw. However today I was cutting 10" cedar trees with the jonsered 2150. The saw wasn't the issue (although I could see how using my 2159 or 2171 would definitely speed things up) it was that every damn tree got hung up, what a pita. I'm used to big trees that go down with a boom. I don't cut for production, just manage our own private woodlots, but I can see why you'd want an excavator beside every tree.

 

[bitzer]

Dear everyone that suggests a 50cc saw,

Go out and fall timber for an entire day, don't cut any firewood, just limb and buck to 30-36' lengths with yer hedge trimmer.

Then if you don't already own one, the very next day, go rent a 64-80cc saw with a bar that will cut this timber.

At the end of the day, tally up your progress.

The extra 5-10 pounds of saw is going to be worth it, and after just a few days you won't really notice the weight difference.


I said it before, I'll say it again, this isn't fire wood or stump carving, falling timber means you need to have horse power on your team, and 50cc saws are not meant to fall timber regularly, they will do it, but you will work 3 times as hard for the same amount of production.

I couldn't have said it better myself. A bigger saw cuts more wood period. That means money to me.

 

[bryanr2]

Here are some images of the area that I'm working in now. I'll also include an image of a truck with a load that would look a lot like what I would be taking out of this area if I were doing so right now. Dogs may give some perspective. By the way, the German Shepherd Dog is 105lbs and is taller and bigger than most people have seen. The McNab is less than half his size but 2 times faster.


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Wow. Never have heard of a McNab Cattle Dog before today, and I am a true "dog man." I know dog breeds like our resident gurus here know saws.

On your saw decision, Id go with what I have avail as far as dealers close by. Id look close at the 562xp and 555. Hotsaws101 has videos on youtube of 562xp with a 30'' bar on it.